Shaesta Waiz’s life began in a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan as her family was fleeing the Soviet-Afghan war. Now, 29 years later, Waiz has returned to her birth nation as the first female certified civilian pilot born in Afghanistan. Waiz is on her way to becoming the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the globe, reports BBC.

Since 2000, the number of girls not attending school has plunged by 40% from more than 200 million worldwide. That’s pretty good progress. But with 130 million girls still not in school and millions more who go to school but don’t learn the basics, there’s still a lot more work to do.As the ONE report notes, the success of the girls’ education revolution over the next 15 years will depend on the extent to which developing countries and wealthier donor countries commit the resources needed to implement quality sector plans and proven approaches.The Education Commission has called on donor countries to mobilize a step change in their financing for global education. The Commission’s recommendations includes helping GPE increase its fund to $2 billion a year by 2020 and $4 billion a year by 2030.

Abdi Buhad is part of a group of women and men – drawn from community members, police officers, journalists, health workers, and non-governmental organisations, among others – who last year set up a gender support desk and hotline in Wajir for victims of violence. Once a girl calls the toll-free number, the group alerts a local colleague or police officer, who investigates the accusation while providing the victim with moral and medical support.If the allegation is found to be substantiated and the victim is willing to come forward, the gender desk helps her bring the case to court.

Suubi (Hope) Health Center was opened in 2014 in the village of Budondo, Luuka District in Eastern Uganda. It was the culmination of many years of work by a local family who believe that their community deserves the best maternal health care. Before any buildings were built, the Mukisa family had already trained a group of community health workers, now known as ‘The Suubi Women’ and worked for years with them spreading positive health messages in the local area by way of participatory theatre.

Lada Kumari, 28, was riding around the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, on her motorbike when she saw a fight break out near the city’s Central Park. “I stopped my bike and broke up the fight,” Kumari says. “The girl went home and the boys stopped fighting.”
Kumari is one of 52 Jaipur policewomen who make up the city’s first all-female squad, launched in early May. The women are trained in martial arts and patrol the city of 3 million inhabitants in pairs. Their aim is to stop the harassment of women.

They didn’t know how to sew. They didn’t know how to code. They didn’t know how to solder. And they had never used a 3-D printer before. But 12 girls at San Fernando High School taught themselves all these skills — and more — to create a solar-powered tent for homeless people.

A young woman’s mission to promote education and improve literacy levels in her community is already bearing fruit. At just 19, Leah Kibe is the director and brainchild behind the Colour World Green Initiative Library.

130 million girls don’t have access to education. So we’re asking the world to count them, one by one. Your count will join others as we try to make the world’s longest video, urging our leaders to get girls into school. #GIRLSCOUNT

A Nepali woman who was trafficked, exploited and abused as a maid in Egypt has conquered Mount Everest in a bid to highlight the dangers of trafficking in her impoverished Himalayan homeland where thousands are sold into slavery every year.

The Caterpillar Foundation believes that no one organization or individual can end extreme poverty. That's why we created Together.Stronger. This collaborative impact platform unites business, non-profits, governments and citizens to combine their strengths to help 50 million people rise out of poverty by 2020.

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The Caterpillar Foundation believes that no one organization or individual can end extreme poverty. That's why we created Together.Stronger. This collaborative impact platform unites business, non-profits, governments and citizens to combine their strengths to help 50 million people rise out of poverty by 2020.

FOLLOW US

Any effort made to impact society is a step in the right direction, but addressing the causes of the inequalities that make philanthropy necessary is a far greater task. #SocialImpact #ImpactInvesting #MLKDay #TogetherStronger